- Businessmen block Islamabad’s Jinnah Avenue in protest.
- PTI links closure of mall to AJK PM’s protest.
- Notice put up on mall’s entrance by CDA’s building control dept.
ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Tuesday sealed a private mall in Islamabad for violating building regulations.
The notice put up on the mall’s entrance stated that CDA’s building control department had sealed the mall.
After the mall was sealed businessmen blocked Jinnah Avenue in protest and warned that the city will be shut down if the mall is not opened.
Meanwhile, PTI has linked the closure of the mall to the protest launched by Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, who owns the mall, during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s speech in Mangla.
“Sealing of [mall] by PDM mafia in response to PM AJK censuring Shehbaz Sharif for not mentioning sacrifices of Kashmiris shows there is law of the jungle in Pakistan since last eight months,” claimed Khan.
The PTI chairperson claimed that the move “sends negative signals to Kashmiris” and was a question for the judges.
On the other hand, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry also slammed the move.
“AJK PM during [Prime Minister] Shehbaz Sharif’s speech stood on his seat and protested against Pakistan’s weak stance on Kashmir issue,” tweeted Fawad. He alleged that after the speech the AJK PM’s acts his car was stopped in Mangla as well.
“Such a fascist and undemocratic government has not come in the history of Pakistan, if such actions will be taken against Prime Minister of AJK only on protest, then what message are you giving to the occupied Kashmir? what message are you giving to the investors in this country?” asked Fawad. He added that the economy will further go down with this action, and urged for the restoration of democracy.
In a tweet, Minister for Information and Broadcast Marriyum Aurangzeb berated the PTI chief and said that a person who had “failed” on several fronts, including governance and foreign policy, should refrain from lecturing PM on the Kashmir issue.
A day earlier, AJK PM Sardar Tanveer Ilyas had interrupted PM Shehbaz during a speech for “not mentioning the sacrifices of Kashmiri people”.
The interruption occurred during PM Shehbaz’s speech after Sharif’s inauguration of the refurbishment project of units 5 and 6 of the Mangla Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant, built on the Jhelum river in Mangla.
Fire in Islamabad shopping mall
This is the same mall where a fire had broken out in its food court in October. However, the fire was quickly brought “under control”.
In a statement, Islamabad Police said that people were rescued and safely evacuated from the backdoor of the mall — which was engulfed in smoke after the fire.
After the fire, the Islamabad Police sealed the building on the orders of the deputy commissioner.
It added that the mall’s building would remain sealed until a probe into the matter has been carried out. Until then, entry into the building would remain prohibited to the public.
The mall was later opened to the public.
Even back then, AJK prime minister’s special assistant had alleged that they fear the inferno in the popular Islamabad shopping mall was a case of “political victimisation”.
“It is feared that [federal government] is doing political victimisation in the light of the political situation,” the AJK PM’s aide said while referring to the conflict between the centre and PTI, which has government in the regional area.